Flooring material comprising sheet-shaped floor elements with a mainly square or rectangular shape. The floor elements are provided with edges, a lower side and an upper decorative layer. The floor elements are intended to be joined by means of joining members. The floor elements are provided with male joining members on a first edge while a second edge of the floor elements are provided with a female joining member. The male joining member is provided with a tongue and a lower side groove while the female joining member is provided with a groove and a cheek, the cheek being provided with a lip. The floor elements are provided with a male vertical assembly joining member on a third edge while a fourth, opposite, edge is provided with female vertical assembly joining member. The floor elements are alternatively provided with a male vertical assembly joining member on a third edge while a fourth, opposite, edge also is provided with male vertical assembly joining member. Adjacent male vertical assembly joining members are hereby joined by means of a separate vertical assembly joining profile. Two adjacent edges of a floor element can hereby, at the same time, and in the same turning motion, be joined with a floor element adjacent to the first edge and a floor element adjacent to the third or fourth edge.
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11. A system of surface elements forming a surface comprising:
a first surface element comprising:
an upper surface;
a lower surface;
a first edge and a second edge, opposite said first edge, joining said upper surface to said lower surface, sized and shaped to permit joining to a second surface element by relative rotational movement; and
a third edge and a fourth edge, opposite said third edge, joining said upper surface to said lower surface, sized and shaped to permit locking to a third surface element by relative vertical movement;
said third edge comprising a separate locking part positioned in a cavity, wherein:
said upper surface comprising:
a décor layer;
hard particles to impart an abrasion resistance to the upper surface; and
one or more sheets of alpha-cellulose, impregnated with a resin;
said hard particles being selected from the group consisting of alpha-aluminum oxide, silicon carbide and silicon oxide;
said separate part is formed from at least one member selected from the group consisting of a thermoplastic, a thermosetting resin and a metal; and
a second surface element, comprising an edge sized and shaped to join with said first edge of said first surface element through relative rotational movement; and
a third surface element, comprising an edge sized and shaped to join with said third edge of said first surface element through relative vertical movement;
wherein:
said third edge of said first surface element and said edge of said third surface element lock said first surface element to said third surface element limiting relative vertical movement, and
said first edge of said first surface element and said edge of said second surface element lock said first surface element to said second surface element limiting relative vertical movement.
1. A system of surface elements forming a surface comprising:
a first surface element comprising:
an upper surface;
a lower surface;
a first edge and a second edge, opposite said first edge, joining said upper surface to said lower surface, sized and shaped to permit joining to a second surface element by relative rotational movement; and
a third edge and a fourth edge, opposite said third edge, joining said upper surface to said lower surface, sized and shaped to permit locking to a third surface element by relative vertical movement;
said third edge comprising a separate locking part positioned in a cavity, wherein:
said upper surface comprising:
a decorative paper impregnated with a resin;
hard particles to impart an abrasion resistance to the upper surface; and
one or more sheets of alpha-cellulose, impregnated with a resin;
said hard particles being selected from the group consisting of alpha-aluminum oxide, silicon carbide and silicon oxide;
said separate part is formed from at least one member selected from the group consisting of a thermoplastic, a thermosetting resin and a metal; and
a second surface element, comprising an edge sized and shaped to join with said first edge of said first surface element through relative rotational movement; and
a third surface element, comprising an edge sized and shaped to join with said third edge of said first surface element through relative vertical movement;
wherein:
said third edge of said first surface element and said edge of said third surface element lock said first surface element to said third surface element limiting relative vertical movement, and
said first edge of said first surface element and said edge of said second surface element lock said first surface element to said second surface element limiting relative vertical movement.
8. A method of forming a surface comprising:
providing a first surface element comprising:
an upper surface;
a lower surface;
a first edge and a second edge, opposite said first edge, joining said upper surface to said lower surface, sized and shaped to permit joining to a second surface element by relative rotational movement; and
a third edge and a fourth edge, opposite said third edge, joining said upper surface to said lower surface, sized and shaped to permit locking to a third surface element by relative vertical movement; and
said third edge comprising a separate locking part positioned in a cavity wherein said upper surface comprises:
a decorative paper impregnated with a resin;
hard particles to impart an abrasion resistance to the upper surface; and
one or more sheets of alpha-cellulose, impregnated with a resin;
said hard particles being selected from the group consisting of a alpha-aluminum oxide, silicon carbide and silicon oxide;
said separate part is formed from at least one material selected from the group consisting of a thermoplastic, a thermosetting resin and a metal; and
a second surface element, comprising an edge sized and shaped to join with said first edge of said first surface element through relative rotational movement; and
a third surface element, comprising an edge sized and shaped to join with said third edge of said first surface element through relative vertical movement;
wherein said third edge of said first surface element and said edge of said third surface element lock said first surface element to said third surface element limiting relative vertical movement, and
said first edge of said first surface element and said edge of said second surface element lock said first surface element to said second surface element limiting relative vertical movement,
joining said first edge said first surface element to a second surface element through relative rotational movement; and
joining said third edge to a third surface element through relative vertical movement.
9. The method of
10. The system of
18. The system according to
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This application is a Division of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/540,583, filed Oct. 2, 2006, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,441,385; which was a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/286,982 filed Nov. 4, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,121,058; and a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/672,076, filed Sep. 29, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,568; and a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/988,014, filed Nov. 16, 2001, now abandoned, and a Continuation-In-Part of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/242,674, filed Sep. 13, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,332,053; and additionally claims priority from Swedish Application No. 0001149-4, filed Mar. 31, 2000, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a flooring material comprising sheet-shaped floor elements which are joined by means of joining members.
2. Background
Prefabricated floor boards provided with tongue and groove at the edges are quite common nowadays. These can be installed by the average handy man as they are very easy to install. Such floors can, for example, be constituted of solid wood, or of wood particles consolidated by use of a binder including fibre board, such as high or medium density fibre board (HDF or MDF), particle board, chip board, oriented strand board (OSB) or any other construction comprising particles of wood bonded together with a binder. These are most often provided with a surface layer such as lacquer, or some kind of laminate. The boards are most often installed by being glued via tongue and groove. The most common types of tongue and groove are however burdened with the disadvantage to form gaps of varying width between the floor boards in cases where the installer hasn't been thorough enough. Dirt will easily collect in such gaps. Moisture will furthermore enter the gaps which will cause the core to expand in cases where it is made of wood, fibre board or particle board, which usually is the case. The expansion will cause the surface layer to rise closest to the edges of the joint which radically reduces the useful life of the floor since the surface layer will be exposed to an exceptional wear. Different types of tensioning devices, forcing the floor boards together during installation can be used to avoid such gaps. This operation is however more or less awkward. It is therefore desirable to achieve a joint which is self-guiding and thereby automatically finds the correct position. Such a joint would also be possible to utilize in floors where no glue is to be used.
Such a joint is known through WO 94/26999 (herein incorporated by reference in its entirety) which deals with a system to join two floor boards. The floor boards are provided with a locking device at the rear sides. In one embodiment the floor boards are provided with profiles on the lower side at a first long side and short side. These profiles, which extends outside the floor board itself, is provided with an upwards directed lip which fits into grooves on the lower side of a corresponding floor board. These grooves are arranged on the second short side and long side of this floor board. The floor boards are furthermore provided with a traditional tongue and groove on the edges. The intentions are that the profiles shall bend downwards and then to snap back into the groove when assembled. The profiles are integrated with the floor boards through folding or alternatively, through gluing.
According to WO 94/26999, the floor boards may be joined by turning or prizing it into position with the long side edge as a pivot point. It is then necessary to slide the floor board longitudinally so that it snaps into the floor board previously installed in the same row. A play is essential in order to achieve that. This play seems to be marked Δ in the figures. A tolerance of ±2 mm is mentioned in the application. Such a play will naturally cause undesired gaps between the floor boards. Dirt and moisture can penetrate into these gaps.
It is also known through WO 97/47834 (herein incorporated by reference in its entirety) to manufacture a joint where the floor boards are joined by turning or prizing it into position with the long side edge as a pivot point. According to this invention a traditional tongue has been provided with heel on the lower side. The heel has a counterpart in a recess in the groove of the opposite side of the floor board. The lower cheek of the groove will be bent away during the assembly and will then snap back when the floor board is in the correct position. The snap-joining parts, i.e. the tongue and groove, is in opposite to the invention according to WO 94/26999 above, where they are constituted by separate parts, seems to be manufactured monolithically from the core of the floor board. WO 97/47834 does also show how the tongue and groove with heels and recesses according to the invention is tooled by means of cutting machining. This invention does also have the disadvantage that the best mode of joining floor boards includes longitudinal sliding for joining the short sides of the floor boards, which also here will require a play which will cause unwanted gaps between the floor boards. Dirt and moisture can penetrate into these gaps.
It is, through the present invention, made possible to solve the above mentioned problems whereby a floor element which can be assembled without having to be slid along already assembled floor elements has been achieved. Accordingly, the invention relates to a flooring material comprising sheet-shaped floor elements with a mainly square or rectangular shape. The floor elements are provided with edges, a lower side and an upper decorative latter. The floor elements are intended to be joined by means of joining members. The invention is characterised in that;
According to one embodiment of the invention, the floor elements are provided with male vertical assembly joining members on a third edge and provided with female vertical assembly joining members on a fourth edge. The male vertical assembly joining members are provided with mainly vertical lower cheek surfaces arranged parallel to the closest edge. The lower cheek surfaces are intended to interact with mainly vertical upper cheek surfaces arranged on the female vertical assembly joining members so that two joined adjacent floor elements are locked against each other in a horizontal direction. The male and female vertical assembly joining members are provided with one or more snapping hooks with matching under cuts which by being provided with mainly horizontal locking surfaces limits the vertical movement between two joined adjacent floor elements.
The floor elements may alternatively be provided with male vertical assembly joining members on both a third and a fourth edge. These edges are then snap joined by means of a vertical assembly profile which on both sides of a longitudinal symmetry line is designed as a female vertical assembly joining member according to the description above. Two joined adjacent floor elements are locked to each other in a horizontal direction via the vertical assembly profile while, at the same time, vertical movement between two joined adjacent floor elements is limited.
The joint between a third and a fourth edge of two joined floor elements preferably comprises contact surfaces which are constituted by the horizontal locking surfaces of the under cuts and hooks, the mainly vertical upper cheek surfaces and lower cheek surfaces as well as upper mating surfaces.
The joint between two joined floor elements suitably also comprises cavities.
According to one embodiment of the invention the snapping hook is constituted by a separate spring part which is placed in a cavity. Alternatively the undercut is constituted by a separate spring part which is placed in a cavity. The spring part is suitably constituted by an extruded thermoplastic profile, a profile of thermosetting resin or an extruded metal profile.
The vertical assembly joining profiles are suitably shaped as extended profiles which suitably are manufactured through extrusion which is a well known and rational method. The vertical assembly joining profiles are suitably shaped as extended lengths or rolls which can be cut to the desired length. The length of the vertical assembly joining profiles considerably exceeds the length of a floor element, before being cut. The lateral joints of the floor will only need shorter pieces of vertical assembly joining profiles which are positioned as each new floor board is introduced to a row. Vertical assembly joining profiles according to the present invention may be manufactured of a number of different materials and manufacturing methods. Among the most suited can, however, be mentioned injection moulding and extrusion. Suitable materials are thermoplastic materials such as polyolefins, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride or acrylnitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymer. These may suitably be filled with, for example, wood powder or lime in order to increase the rigidity but also to increase the adhesion when glue is used. It is also possible to mill a vertical assembly joining profile from a material such as wood, fibre board or particle board.
The flooring material including the floor boards and joining profiles above is most suited when installing floors where it isn't desired to use glue. It is, however, possible to use glue or twin-faced adhesive tape in order to make the installation irreversibly permanent. The glue or tape is then suitably applied on, or in connection to, possible cavities or faces below the upper mating surfaces.
The invention is described further in connection to enclosed figures showing different embodiments of a flooring material whereby,
The embodiment shown in
The embodiment shown in
The embodiment shown in
The joint between a third and a fourth edge 2III and 2IV respectively of two joined floor elements 1 further comprises contact surfaces which are constituted by the horizontal locking surfaces of the under cuts 24 and hooks 23, the mainly vertical upper cheek surfaces 22 lower cheek surfaces as well as upper mating surfaces 25. The joint between two joined floor elements 1 also comprises cavities 6.
The embodiment shown in
The embodiment shown in
The embodiment shown in
Two adjacent edges 2 of a floor element 1 can at the same time, and in the same turning motion, be joined with a floor element 1 adjacent to the first edge 21 and a floor element 1 adjacent to the third or fourth edge 2III and 2IV respectively, when assembling floor elements 1 according to the above described embodiments.
The floor elements 1 according to the present invention most often comprises a core. The core is most often comprised of particles or fibre of wood bonded with resin or glue. It is advantageous to coat the surface closest to the joint in cases where the floor will be exposed to high levels of moisture since the cellulose based material is sensitive to moisture. This coating may suitably incorporate resin, wax or some kind of lacquer. It is not necessary to coat the joint when it is to be glued since the glue itself will protect from moisture penetration. The upper decorative layer 3 is constituted of a decorative paper impregnated with melamine-formaldehyde resin. One or more so called overlay sheets of a-cellulose, impregnated with melamine-formaldehyde resin may possibly be placed on top of the decorative layer. The abrasion resistance may be improved by sprinkling one or more of the sheets with hard particles of for example α-aluminium oxide, silicon carbide or silicon oxide. The lower side 5 may suitably be coated with lacquer or a layer of paper and resin.
In contrast, the floor elements shown in
The dimensions ε and η may also be related to the thickness of the floor element itself. For example, the ratio between ε and the thickness (or η and the surface) may be in the range of about 0.025 to 0.2, typically, about 0.05 to about 0.1, and more typically, about 0.07 to 0.09. That is to say, when the thickness is 8 mm, as is common in conventional boards, ε or η would be from 0.2 to 1.5 mm. Additionally, α (or γ) can be at least 2 times greater than β (or δ), while ε (or η) is at least 2 times ζ (or θ).
Moreover, all dimension lines of
Finally, the floor elements of this invention, preferably, comprise vertically-joined edges on at least two sides. For example, when the floor panel has a substantially rectangular shape, such vertically-joined edges may be found on two, three or all four sides. When the vertically-joined edges are located on less than all sides of the floor element, the remaining sides may include, for example, edges joined by rotating or horizontal movement or simple straight edges without a joining profile.
The invention is not limited by the embodiments shown since they can be varied within the scope if the invention.
Palsson, Jorgen, Sjöberg, Ake
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